ADMISSIONS
Policy and procedures for pupils
LAST UPDATED FEBRUARY 2025
1. ADMISSIONS POLICY
STATEMENT
St Andrew’s Prep welcomes applications from pupils of all abilities. The entry procedures are solely intended to act as a guide to finding the right environment for your child to thrive.
St Andrew’s Prep is an independent day and boarding school, for girls and boys, from 9 months to 13 years old. Day pupils are accepted for all year groups and boarding pupils from Year 3 upwards. Children may join at any stage during the academic year, if there is capacity.
We believe that every child at St Andrew’s Prep should be happy to be able to achieve their best. To be sure of our ability to meet the educational and pastoral needs of each child, the Headmaster discusses our suitability with all prospective parents as a matter of course.
We warmly invite you to come and see for yourself the breadth of education and opportunities St Andrew’s Prep will offer your child.
2. ADMISSIONS JOURNEY
All families who enquire are encouraged either to join our next open event or, if preferred, to make an individual appointment to visit the School.
Our open events are held regularly throughout the year and bookable via the website. Individual visits, including a school tour, can be arranged throughout the academic year. Some parents bring their children with them, others prefer to make the first visit on their own and return, with their children, at a later date.
Registration
The first formal stage of the admissions process is registration. Once the registration form has been completed, along with the non-refundable £180 registration fee, applicants can be considered for entry.
Prospective pupils
If appropriate, prospective pupils and their families will be invited to visit the School to meet the admissions team and the Headmaster, and be given a tour. Meetings with other teachers can be arranged. For international pupils unable to travel, as much of this process as possible will be delivered virtually.
Taster days are arranged as part of the admissions process. The format and frequency of the taster days are personalised to the child and the admissions requirements (refer to Years of entry).
If applicable, admissions will also start to collect reports and references from the applicant’s current school.
Those whose first language is not English will need to sit an online independent school test and short interview. Tuition of English as an additional language (EAL) can be arranged at the parents’ expense.
Confirmation of a nursery place or offer to attend the School will then be sent out.
To accept the offer, all individuals with parental responsibility must complete the Guaranteed Place Form with payment of relevant deposits by the offer expiry date. When you complete, sign and submit the Guaranteed Place Form, pay the deposit and if relevant, have the Third-Party Payment Agreement form approved, you and the School enter into a legally binding contract, upon the School’s terms and conditions.
Upon registration, families are asked to indicate if they are likely to require financial assistance. Families applying for a means-tested bursary will receive more information from our Bursary team. If there is any financial concern, parents should not sign the Guaranteed Place Form until they have received the outcome of their application.
If you change your mind and decide to withdraw your child before they take up their place, you may lose your deposit and be responsible for paying us fees in lieu of notice. Please refer to the terms and conditions for more information.
Waiting list
If St Andrew’s Prep is full for future academic years, parents can add their children’s names to a general waiting list, by completing a registration form and paying the non-refundable £180 registration fee.
If there are issues (such as additional testing requirements, learning support, application for meanstested bursaries etc) connected with a prospective pupil that might delay the acceptance of an offered place, parents are strongly advised to contact the admissions team to discuss the matter.
3. YEARS OF ENTRY
Nursery (9 months – age four)
Offers for a place in our nursery or pre-school classes will be made on receipt of satisfactory information from the family, and room availability.
Entry into Reception through to Year 3
Entry for pupils into these year groups will be considered as long as space is available. If applicable, a reference will be needed from the Headteacher of the previous school.
Entry into Year 4 to Year 5
There will be short formal academic assessments in reading and maths and the Headmaster will meet with your child. School reports and general school records are also requested. Offers will be made to pupils on receipt of a satisfactory reference and after their taster day.
Entry into Year 6 to Year 8
Pupils will sit a standardised CATs test and tests in maths and English and the Headmaster will also meet with your child. School reports and general school records are also requested. Offers will be made to pupils on receipt of a satisfactory reference and after their taster day. Senior school destinations will also be discussed.
Short stays
Pending capacity, we can offer overseas pupils from Year 5 to Year 8 a place at St Andrew’s Prep for a minimum of one term.
Senior school destination
Should your child be joining us from Year 6 and you wish for them to be considered for Eastbourne College, please advise on the registration form.
4. DEPOSITS, FEES, AND EXTRAS
Deposits
To accept the offer of a place at the School, a deposit is required, which varies depending on pupils’ residence:
£500 Nursery
£750 Reception to Year 2
£1,200 UK day Years 3 to 8
£1,500 UK boarders
£9,000 Overseas day Years 3 to 8
£13,000 Overseas boarders Years 3 to 8
The School normally classes a pupil as ‘overseas’ if one or both parents normally resides abroad and/or, more importantly, if the income of the parent or parents who are responsible for paying the school fees is generated overseas. Ownership of property in the UK can help to show that a family may reside in this country, but the School reserves the right to make a decision based on the country of employment in the first instance.
The acceptance/guaranteed place deposit is non-refundable until the end of a pupil’s course and will be credited to the final extras bill. For children who progress through the school, the existing deposit can be carried over and topped up to meet the deposit requirement.
Cancellation and withdrawals
Please refer to the School’s Terms and Conditions for further information about required notice periods and associated penalties where insufficient notice is provided.
Fees and extras (as of January 2025)
Please refer to the scale of charges available on our website.
How to pay
Fees can be paid by electronic bank transfer using the details below. Please clearly state the child’s name as the transaction reference to assist the Accounts Department with identification.
Bank name: Lloyds Bank
Account Name: Eastbourne College (Incorporated)
Account Number: 00058400
Sort Code: 30 92 86
Swift Code: LOYDGB21092
IBAN Number: GB37LOYD30928600058400
For further billing and invoicing inquiries, please contact Mrs Louise Maryan on lm@eastbourne-college.co.uk or telephone 01323 452304.
Our scheme for advance payment of school fees allows those families who might find it helpful, to pay some or all of their likely school fees in advance. The finance team can provide further information on the fees in advance scheme, including a quote to cover future fee liability upon request. Fees paid in advance attract a discount per annum.
5. BURSARIES AND SCHOLARSHIP
Every year the School provides financial support in the form of means-tested bursaries for families who reside in the UK and who would not otherwise be able to attend.
The relevant fee remission varies in value depending on financial need and the value of funds the school has available in any given year to support. All bursaries are subject to means-testing. Bursaries are not available for families who reside overseas due to visa requirements.
Please note that in order for the bursary application to be processed, it is necessary for the child to be registered with us. Parents should request and complete a Financial Circumstances Form as part of the registration process. After Bursary Administration Limited complete their assessment, this will then be evaluated by the Finance Director in line with the Independent Schools Bursars’ Association guidelines. The form can be provided on request by the admissions office. For advice on financial assistance or bursaries, please contact Mr Chris Bentley-Mawer at the College on 01323 461918.
Scholarships are awarded as a result of strictly moderated open competition and assessment.
Scholarships are based on a child’s ability and do not guarantee fee remission. More detail on the scholarships available can be found on our website.
6. LEARNING ENRICHMENT OR MEDICAL NEEDS
At the registration stage, parents must inform the School of any information regarding special educational needs, medical conditions (physical and emotional), allergies and disabilities. It is important that the School obtains this information to establish if a pupil’s needs can be met and to ensure that we are able to make the necessary reasonable adjustments.
It is the parent’s responsibility, following registration, to keep the school informed of any changes, so that that the information held by the school remains up to date
6. ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE (EAL)
English as an additional language (EAL)
We offer specialist EAL lessons to all our international pupils from Year 5 in addition to the normal curriculum. The programme is tailored to suit the individual child. Pupils are assessed on arrival and recommendations are made to parents through their agent/guardian. The school reserves the right to determine whether a pupil requires this additional support.
This specialist department ensures that lessons are motivating, beneficial and enjoyable. Classes are designed to help children cope with the demands of the wider curriculum and to concentrate on reading, writing, listening, speaking and vocabulary and grammar development, which enables children to integrate into the mainstream as quickly as possible.
St Andrew’s Prep uses the study materials and tests published by Cambridge English (also known as ESOL), a department of Cambridge University. Cambridge English exams are recognised by over 25,000 universities, employers and governments around the world. By using these materials, we ensure that our Androvian pupils will be able to prove their English skills to thousands of academic institutions and organisations worldwide following their St Andrew’s Prep education.
7. GUARDIANS FOR OVERSEAS PUPILS
Whilst communication with parents living overseas is much more straightforward than it once was, it is a condition of entry to St Andrew’s Prep that every pupil whose parents are resident abroad has a suitable guardian living in this country. They can be friends, relatives, or nominated friends of an overseas family. Where parents find it difficult to nominate a relative or good acquaintance for this purpose, admissions can provide suggestions of reliable local guardianship agencies approved by AEGIS (Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students: www.aegisuk.net). The final choice of a guardian is the responsibility of the parents. More information, including when a child needs to stay with guardians, can be found within the Guardian Policy.
9, VISA REGULATIONS
The School complies with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations and can issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) for pupils requiring visa entry to the UK.
On acceptance of a place (by completion of the Guaranteed Place Form and acceptance deposit payment being received) parents of pupils seeking Child / Student Visa sponsorship will be contacted by Sable International who will send a CAS consent and information letter for completion and return. A management fee will apply. More information is provided at this stage.
10. QUESTIONS?
Choosing a school can be a daunting experience, but we are here to help. If unsure, please contact Admissions.
Admissions Office – UK
Telephone: 01323 744820
Email: admissions@standrewsprep.co.uk
Finance department / Bursary
Telephone 01323 461918
Email finance@eastbourne-college.co.uk
